i'm greatly saddened by the effects of the flood in manila. what a truly horrible catastrophe. all of a sudden, my troubles seem too small and insignificant compared to what people over there are going through right now.
what was i even worried about? i don't even remember anymore.
it's time to give thanks for blessings instead.
i'm happy that i gained only .8 kg in the past month. i went for a prenatal last saturday and i almost leapt with joy when i stepped on the scale. 800 grams in one month isn't bad, considering that 300 of it went to the baby. (i think maybe 200 went to my boobs as they're even bigger now.) at least my constant vigilance seems to be working.
the doctor warned me that my haemoglobin count is very low. i've always been anemic so i wasn't surprised. but she told me it's causing my baby to be on the small side. so that's not good. i need to take more iron supplements and to eat more food rich in iron. hello red meat! =D
the blood test and urine test also showed that i don't have gestational diabetes, which is a big relief!
i'm also grateful that i've been getting a lot of orders lately. more than i can handle, in fact. i still can't believe that there are people who actually want to pay me to do something i absolutely love to do! i'll count myself blessed, and i'm really truly grateful.
what are you grateful for this week?
perspective
Monday, September 28, 2009
Posted by Patricia at 4:36 PM 1 comments
plus size and pregnant
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
i'm due for another prenatal check-up this saturday. i hope everything will be fine. i've been doing my best to eat healthy and to exercise regularly. hey, i'm still doing the same exercise i did when i was trying to lose weight, ok? 1 hour of brisk-walking 5 times a week. sometimes i even remember to lift weights. (sometimes!)
it worries me that i've been gaining a lot of weight. i should be gaining less, but i think my genes might have something to do with it as well. i'm just not one of the lucky ones, no matter what i do. there are times when i wish i could go on a diet again, but on the days when i try to go back to phase 2 of the south beach, i feel really nauseous and i can't function for the entire day. maybe it's the lack of carbs. there's nothing like carbs to comfort a queasy tummy.
today i had a really healthy sandwich for breakfast. wholegrain bun, with leg ham, a handful of lettuce leaves, slices of tomato, a slice of cheese, some mayo and wholegrain mustard. yum! but then i started feeling nauseous afterwards. i don't get it. surely it doesn't mean i'm doomed to eat oatmeal forever and ever?
Posted by Patricia at 8:51 AM 2 comments
Labels: food, nutrition, overweight, pregnancy
pasta cravings
Monday, September 21, 2009
of course i know why i've been gaining too much weight. carbs. evil evil delicious carbs.
i can't help it. they make me feel better. and let's face it, i can't exactly go on a diet while i'm pregnant.
i love this vongole i made. or should i say spaghetti ala vongole because i'm pretty sure i skipped some necessary ingredients. i made it really spicy (i can still eat spicy food, i'm not suffering from heartburn yet) and manuel loved it! he actually finished 3 plates-full of it. come to think of it, he has been eating 3 times what i eat lately. so he also looks 5 months pregnant. hahahahaha!
here it is
the bump
has finally surpassed my boobs
i now look very pregnant
as if pregnancy has degrees
(i think it does)
in a few more weeks
i will start to look like a hippo
as if i don't look like one now.
Posted by Patricia at 6:35 PM 8 comments
showing
Monday, September 14, 2009
i'm running out of clothes to wear. i'm really showing now. my belly bump is not just a bump. it's the size of a basketball. i can't imagine how big i'll be when i reach full term! waaaah! but being a creature of habit, i'm still wearing jeans (with the extender, of course) and tent tshirts. they still fit me, but the shirts are a bit snug around my tummy now.
i wish i could wear dresses all the time! but my thighs are so huge, they rub when i walk. eww. i'm not one of those lucky women who, when they get pregnant, manage to look like a ball on a stick. you know what i mean, only their bellies get big. unfortunately, my thighs get jealous, and so do my arms. they have to put on some padding as well. maybe one of these days i'll post a picture so you'll see how big i am right now. i'm still trying to summon up the courage. =)
Posted by Patricia at 10:10 PM 8 comments
Labels: fabulousness, fashion, pregnancy, weight gain
sadness
i just learned today that a dear friend who got pregnant at the same time as i did, lost her baby just a few weeks ago. =( i wish i could be with her right now. the last time i saw her we were sharing a kilo of lanzones and discussing our myriad of pregnancy woes and symptoms.
Posted by Patricia at 9:46 PM 4 comments
Labels: heartbreak
chocolate fix
Saturday, September 12, 2009
thank goodness for swiss miss diet cocoa! if not for this, i wouldn't be able to indulge in a daily chocolate fix. at only 25 calories per packet, it doesn't affect my daily calorie intake that much. and it tastes just as good as the regular one! i usually add a bit of nonfat milk though, just to increase my calcium intake.
now, if only they made sugar-free marshmallows to go with it. =) a girl, can dream, can't she? =D
Posted by Patricia at 11:26 AM 3 comments
Labels: chocolate, nutrition, product review, swiss miss
temper! temper!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
dang these hormones!
why can't i control my temper? the slightest thing can drive me screaming mad these days! aaargh! there are people that i actually want to throttle and kick, can you believe it? i'm so glad some of them are not around because i can't promise to behave myself if i do see them. i feel like an amazon warrior with an axe to grind. a valkyrie on a motorbike weilding a sword. beware all who cross my path.
breathe patricia. breathe.
the stress is so not good for me. i will focus on happy thoughts. pink. candy floss. shopping. casseroles. ice cream. butterflies. fairy dust. polkadots. moonbeams...
and exhale.
Posted by Patricia at 9:09 PM 9 comments
attack of the lazies
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
lazy, lazy, lazy
that's what i am this week. i spend all my afternoons lying down reading or taking a nap. mornings are for housework and answering emails. evenings are for working on themes (for 2 hours or so). and that's it. no classes this week for vito, it's their term break before the last term starts next week. that means i don't even need to go out of the house! yay!
i'm still eating healthy, don't worry. =) oatmeal for breakfast with nonfat milk and a bit of sugar. lunch usually means leftovers from the night before. and for dinner some dish with lots of veggies. i also make sure i eat either an apple, a banana, or pineapple slices, and drink a potassium-rich fruit juice. i take my vitamins religiously. i notice i don't have much of an appetite at night. i still get a bit nauseous until now.
but! no more headaches. no more hypertension. =) oh, and i'm on my 19th week now! that means i've reached the halfway mark. my ob has scheduled me for cs on my 38th week. i cannot go into labor because my uterus is scarred in many places. either it will rupture, or it won't be capable of synchronized contractions. either way, cs it is.
Posted by Patricia at 9:19 PM 8 comments
the weekend chef
Monday, September 7, 2009
i forgot to keep track of what i ate over the weekend. i'm sure it was more of the same things. except that sundays are pancake days. so i had a couple of small pancakes for breakfast yesterday. yum!
manuel cooked. he loves to cook. he wishes he could work as a chef instead of crunching numbers all day. so every weekend the kitchen is his.
you should taste his baked chicken. it's the best in the world! if anyone of you manages to apparate over here, i will ask him to cook his baked chicken for you.
Posted by Patricia at 5:12 PM 7 comments
resting
Friday, September 4, 2009
i love lazy days! yesterday was spent reading novels and revamping my patsthemes site. nothing even remotely productive (or income generating). in other words, a perfectly happy day! at least for a pregnant woman who easily overheats. =D
here's my food list:
breakfast: 1 c oatmeal with 1 c nonfat milk and 1 tsp sugar. (this is getting to be boring. and i find myself hungry again after 2 hours.)
mid morning snack: 1 apple, 2 slices toasted baguette with butter
lunch: 1 1/2 c kiddie style spaghetti (you know, with hotdogs, mushrooms, sweet tomato sauce, and lots of cheese)
afternoon snack: 1 apple with 1/4 c walnuts
dinner: 1 1/2 c stir-fried garlic bud stalks with tofu. 1/2 c rice.
dessert: 2 tbsp strawberry ice cream
Posted by Patricia at 2:09 PM 6 comments
Labels: food diary, nutrition, pregnancy
success!
Thursday, September 3, 2009
for two days now by bp has gone down to 120/80. yay! i'm glad to see results right away. i think the calcium really works.
yesterday i overtaxed myself and i almost collapsed. never again. today i'm resting. didn't even send vito to school because i don't want to be stressed. i have muscle pains all over! pregnant women cannot carry 3kg of books and walk 4kms under the heat of the noonday sun. i was irresponsible.
my food choices for yesterday echoed the ones for tuesday.
breakfast - 1 c oatmeal again with nonfat milk and 1 tsp sugar.
midmorning snack - 1 fuji apple
lunch - 1 siopao (i had to stop on the way home and eat the siopao i bought for my afternoon snack because i was about to faint from low blood sugar levels. i was actually shaking and felt very weak)
- 1/2 c rice, 1 c stir-fried cauliflower and brocolli, 1 c sauteed long beans, 1/2 c sweet sour pork
afternoon snack - none
dinner - leftover chicken fajitas with grilled veggies on 1 wholemeal tortilla
dessert - 1/2 c strawberry ice cream (the kind with real fruits in it)
Posted by Patricia at 11:39 AM 7 comments
Labels: exercise, hypertension, nutrition, pregnancy
kind words
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
some people really know how to make others feel better. today was a school holiday so jessica, my singaporean friend and mom to vito's bff, organized another swimming party. i was talking to linda, my aussie friend, and bemoaning the fact that i had gained 8kg since i got pregnant. she said, "you know, i gained 6 kg since we last saw each other and i'm not even pregnant. i bet that makes you feel better, huh?" hahahahaah! oh, you bet it did!
the other moms were trying to cheer me up and telling me how wonderful it is to have 2 kids of the same sex. actually all of them have 2 boys each. so now i'll be part of the club. =)
anyway, here's my food diary entry for today:
breakfast: 1 c oatmeal made from rolled oats, 1 c nonfat milk, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp raisins
mid morning snack: 1 medium banana
lunch: 1/2 pancit guisado, 1/2 c fried rice w veggies, 1 c chicken/mango/lettuce salad w no dressing. dessert: 2 old-fashioned donuts. 1 c unsweetened apple juice.
afternoon snack: 1 banana, 1/2 c pancit guisado (had to eat the leftovers)
dinner: chicken fajitas made of -- 1 wholewheat tortilla, 3 grilled chicken strips, 4 strips grilled bell pepper, 3 strips grilled eggplant, 1 tsp mayo w garlic, 4 lettuce leaves.
after-dinner drink: chamomile vanilla tea
Posted by Patricia at 8:23 PM 4 comments
Labels: boys, food diary, nutrition, pregnancy